The textbook offers a glimpse into virtual worlds in general and Second Life in particular (some more details in this post). Titled â€œMundos virtuales. Un paseo por Second Lifeâ€ (â€œVirtual worlds. A stroll in Second Lifeâ€), the course (and book) covers a range of topics ranging from basic movement and building techniques to some theories on virtual identities.

(It also ranges from quite basic stuff to more advanced theories. Special thanks to Greg Niemeyer, whose Berkeley course “Foundations of American Cyberculture” and personal input during an interview a while back were great inspiration for the chapters on virtual identities and trust!)

It’s written for a compact summer school course, so I hope it proves to be a good read for newbies and advanced users. (If you’re a Second Life veteran, this isn’t really for you.) To give you an idea, the chapters are as follows:

Introduction

First steps in Second Life

Building your own world – 3D model creation in Second Life

Who are you? Identities, trust and interaction in virtual environments.